Carbon dating like techniques Reliable or not?

[mubashirmansoor]

Carbon dating like techniques...Reliable or not?

Hello,

As I have learned Carbon, uranium & other elements of radioactive nature are now used for dating how old an object is... I am wondering how does this technique work exactly & how reliable it is...

The only samples which are the basis of our 4.5bln years old Earth turn out to be Zircon crystals which have been dated as the oldest of our samples (4.5bln) using radioactive uranium... As I am a student of Geology I am willing to know more about the radioactive dating itself, which seems a very intriguing phenomena!

Thank you for giving me your time.

 

[alxm]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiometric_dating

 

[sir-pinski]

Carbon dating, also known as radiocarbon dating, is a technique used to determine the age of organic materials up to 50,000 years old. It works by measuring the amount of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon, in the sample. This isotope is constantly formed in the atmosphere and is taken in by plants through photosynthesis. When the plant dies, it stops taking in carbon-14 and the existing carbon-14 begins to decay at a known rate. By measuring the amount of carbon-14 left in the sample, scientists can calculate how long ago the plant died and thus determine the age of the sample.

Carbon dating is a reliable technique when used correctly and with appropriate samples. However, it is not without its limitations. One potential issue is contamination, as modern carbon can mix with the sample and skew the results. This is why it is important to carefully select samples and use multiple dating methods to confirm the accuracy of the results.

Another limitation is the range of dates that carbon dating can accurately determine. As you mentioned, zircon crystals have been dated to 4.5 billion years old using radioactive uranium. This is because uranium has a much longer half-life than carbon-14 and can be used to date much older materials. For this reason, carbon dating is not used for dating very old materials, but rather for more recent ones.

Overall, carbon dating is a reliable and widely-used technique for dating organic materials. However, like any scientific method, it is important to use it correctly and understand its limitations. It is also constantly being refined and improved upon, so it is always important to stay up-to-date on the latest techniques and research in this field. I hope this helps answer your question. Best of luck in your studies!